Full Bio...

I am a widow, wife, and mother of two. I am a literary scholar and professor turned creative writer and essayist. My work has recently been featured on NPR, ABC, and CBS and in Newsweek and HuffPost. I am the author of a memoir about losing my husband and biological father of my children to ALS when we were in our forties and our children were young, a collection of short fictional stories on grief inspired by my becoming the sole survivor of my birth family at thirty-six, a chapbook and full-length collection of poetry on trauma, love, loss, grief, mortality, and other topics, and a literary reference book. My poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and critical essays on poetry, memoir, and pedagogy, have appeared widely in literary and scholarly journals, anthologies, and encyclopedias. I have a master’s degree in English and a doctorate in English and Philosophy and am eager to bring my experience and knowledge to audiences interested in topics related to death and dying, caregiving, disability, parenting during terminal illness, grief and self-care, as well as childhood trauma, divorce, widowhood, and loving one’s way forward. I am also prepared to offer workshops on various techniques and topics in poetry, memoir, and fiction, creating and nurturing writing groups, revisions and editing, and the publishing, publicity, and marketing process.

With nearly thirty years of teaching and speaking experience, I am prepared to discuss your speaker needs and happy to craft a presentation or workshop by request. I am a New Yorker who has lived in five states and currently resides in Michigan. I am happy to travel as well as present remotely.